If Smudge Went Too
by Rain and Moss
Summary: Ever wonder what would happen if Smudge went with Rusty to the warrior world? This is a story that is pretty much Into The Wild, but it is written that Smudge went with Rusty to the world of the Clans.PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. UPDATES: CHAPTER 6
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, this is only a fan fiction.

Rusty glanced over at Smudge. They were sitting on their garden fences, saying their good-byes. Despite the sadness that welled inside Rusty's heart from leaving his friend behind, the ginger tom was thoroughly excited about his new life. After all his fantasies of living in the forest, he was living his dreams.

"Goodbye, Smudge. I will miss you." He mewed. The black and white kitten looked at Rusty, his eyes sad. Rusty hopped down from the fence, and with one last look at his friend, he strode into the forest.

It wasn't long before he heard pawsteps behind him. Rusty whirled around, claws unsheathed. He froze when he saw Smudge pounding up to him.

"Smudge!" Rusty gasped. "Why are you here?" Smudge looked nervously around him, obviously frightened.

"I-I can't watch you go," he meowed. Rusty felt a rush of annoyance toward his friend.

"I told you before, Smudge, you can't stop me," he hissed.

"I'm not trying to stop you," Smudge retorted. "I'm going with you!" Rusty did his best not to look too amazed. He opened his mouth to protest, but Smudge's determined glare stopped him. The ginger kitten nodded and together, the two friends padded deeper into the forest.

When Lionheart stepped out of the undergrowth to meet them, Smudge leaped into the air, and with his fur bristling, he faced Lionheart, his fear scent overpowering.

"This is Whitestorm," Lionheart meowed. "And who might this be?" he nodded to Smudge. "A friend to see you off?" Rusty shook his head.

"He wants to come." Lionheart looked at the two cats and sighed.

"Bluestar may not approve, but we shall see…" and with that, the golden tabby and his white companion whisked into the forest. Rusty shot a quick glance at Smudge, and both cats followed the two warriors into the forest.

When Lionheart and Whitestorm waded through a pool of water, Smudge took one glance at it and shook his head.

"I'm not going in there." He mewed.

"Come on," Rusty whispered. "We can't show ant weakness or they might send us home." Smudge looked as is he half hoped they might get sent home, but he nodded, and cringing, he stepped into the water. Rusty and Smudge raced after the wild cats, and when they stopped at the entrance to camp, Smudge threw himself onto the ground, gasping for breath. Lionheart and Whitestorm exchanged a smirk, but remained silent, and didn't speak when they lead the exhausted kittens into camp and up to Bluestar.

"Who is this?" the gray she-cat questioned.

"I am Smudge," meowed the kitten. "I have come with Rusty to be a warrior of your Clan." Bluestar examined him for a moment.

"I must speak with my warriors." She decided. "Wait here." Smudge and Rusty flopped gratefully on to the earth. They looked around the camp. Rusty was so intent on memorizing the camp that he didn't notice Graypaw bound up to him.

"Hi Rusty!" he mewed. He turned his gaze on Smudge. Before he could ask who he was, Rusty spoke up.

"This is my friend, Smudge." He announced. Graypaw mewed a quick greeting and sat down with them.

"I don't understand this whole Clan thing." Smudge meowed. Graypaw twitched his tail in amusement.

"It's not hard to remember." He mewed, and he was off, explaining about all the Clan customs, the warrior code, StarClan and the other three Clans that lived in the forest. He had only just finished when Bluestar returned. She flicked her tail at Graypaw in dismissal, and faced Rusty and Smudge. Both kittens leaped to their paws, and the bell on Rusty's collar jingled loudly. He glanced at Smudge, and with a twinge of jealousy, remembered that Smudge didn't wear a collar.

"You are both welcome to join ThunderClan as apprentices" Bluestar meowed. Rusty looked at Smudge, and to his relief, the black and white tom was looking excited. They stood together and watched as Bluestar bounded up onto Highrock and summoned the Clan.

"These two outsiders will be joining the Clan," she yowled. All eyes turned to Rusty and Smudge.

"Are they loners?" a voice sounded

"Rogues?" meowed another.

"Kittypets?" screeched a third cat. Rusty became uncomfortably aware that his collar would give him away.

"Quick, Smudge," Rusty hissed. "Snap my collar." Smudge looked doubtful for a heartbeat but bent forward and gripped the bright blue strap between his teeth. Rusty braced himself as his friend pulled, and pulled harder until, with a satisfying snap, the collar broke. Smudge dropped it to the ground and helped Rusty bury it. Quickly, the cats turned back to Bluestar and with a twinge of unease, Rusty realized that she had seen them bury his collar.

"They smell like Twolegs!" howled a pale tabby near the back of the crowd.

"They aren't wearing collars," a pretty tortoiseshell she-cat pointed out. Bluestar yowled for silence and Rusty turned his gaze back to the Clan leader, though his eyes wandered back to the tortoiseshell more than once.

"They are outsiders," Bluestar called out, and she said no more. The pale tabby was the only one who dared challenge their leader.

"Then how come they reek of Twolegs?" he yowled. Graypaw, who was sitting beside the tabby glared at him.

"Longtail, you mouse-brain," he snarled and he reached out and cuffed the tabby on the ear. It would have been a completely harmless blow, but in his anger, Graypaw forgot to sheathe his claws. His thorn-sharp claws caught around Longtail's ear, and with a screech, the tabby ripped away, causing his ear to tear. Graypaw scrambled away as the tortoiseshell Rusty had seen earlier bounded up to Longtail and pulled him over to a clump of ferns at the edge of camp. Bluestar acted as if nothing had happened and continued with her speech.

"These two outsiders need their names," she meowed, and she flicked her tail to Rusty. "Your pelt glows like flame in the sunlight, so this apprentice shall be known as Firepaw, in honor of your flame-coloured fur. For now, Tigerclaw and Lionheart will share your training." Smudge looked at Firepaw in awe, and gave a start when Bluestar spoke to him. "You are still a bit young to be an apprentice, for now you will stay in the nursery with the other kits, but only for about a quarter moon, until you get an apprentice name. You mentioned that your name is Smudge, so you shall be known as Smudgekit. This meeting is over." As the cats dispersed, Smudgekit let out a low moan.

"I don't want to be called Smudgekit," he mewed. Firepaw pressed his warm pelt against his friend.

"Don't worry, it won't be long before you are Smudgepaw, then you can come training with Graypaw and me." Smudgekit brightened, and hopped off to the clump of brambles that Graypaw had mentioned as the nursery. Firepaw raced up to Graypaw, and the gray tom led Firepaw over to the apprentices' den.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Smudgekit peered into the nursery. Inside it was cozy and warm. The milky smell of kits spun in the air. There were four other cats inside, and as Smudgekit walked in, they all nodded a greeting. Smudgekit glanced around warily, wondering if he should say anything. Before his mind landed on a decision, a pretty golden queen spoke up.

"You don't need any of us to suckle you, Smudgekit, but you do need a mother. For now, I will take care of you for the quarter moon that you are here. I am Goldenflower, and this is Frostfur, Brindleface and Speckletail. We discussed who would act as mother to you, and as I said before, we decided on myself." Smudgekit glanced at the other queens, who were gazing at Goldenflower, their expressions plainly saying 'rather you than me'.

Smudgekit spent the afternoon wandering around camp with Graypaw and Firepaw. Graypaw introduced them to all the cats they met, and they spent quite a long time having a conversation with Spottedleaf, the tortoiseshell she-cat that Firepaw had been staring at during the Clan meeting. Smudgekit asked Graypaw all about Clan life, about the queens, elders, medicine cats and the warriors. Smudgekit noticed that Firepaw looked thoroughly put out when Graypaw explained that medicine cats were forbidden to have mates.

"Who are the other apprentices?" Smudgekit asked.

"Well, there's me, Firepaw, Sandpaw, Dustpaw, and Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw went out with his mentor, Tigerlaw and the deputy, Redtail. They went to Sunningrocks to fight off RiverClan again. And they took other warriors too, like Mousefur an-Oh! Speak of the devil!" Graypaw mewed as a skinny black tom staggered into camp. His shoulder was bleeding badly and Smudgekit stepped aside as Spottedleaf shot past them with a wad of cobwebs in her mouth.

The medicine cat crouched over Ravenpaw and pressed the cobwebs onto his wound. Smudgekit felt Firepaw stiffen beside him as a second cat, an enormous, dark tabby, padded in through the gorse tunnel. In the tabby's mouth was the red body of a cat.

"That tabby is Tigerclaw, and that," Graypaw nodded to the motionless heap of red fur. "Is Redtail." Tigerclaw padded past his wounded apprentice and dropped Redtail's body in front of Bluestar. In a low voice, he murmured to Bluestar. Smudgekit guessed that he was explaining what had happened to her deputy. Bluestar nodded sadly and pulled herself slowly up onto Highrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting." Her words sounded hollow and empty, and as the cats clustered below her, she gazed back at them all with eyes filled with sorrow.

"Smudgekit!" it was Goldenflower. "Smudgekit come here, Bluestar said 'all cats old enough to catch prey' to join the meeting. You are too young to attend." Smudgekit felt a twinge of annoyance, but realized that Goldenflower was treating him as she would any kit, and he was grateful for it. He padded over to her and she touched noses with her before she swept him into the brambles.

Smudgekit waited, tense and anxious. He had stayed in the nursery with the other kits as Goldenflower had instructed, but he knew that Firepaw and Graypaw would come in and tell him about the meeting. He leaped up excitedly as the brambles rustled and his two friends padded into the nursery. Smudgekit led them away from the other kits, and in hushed tones they discussed the meeting.

"Tigerclaw said that the RiverClan deputy, Oakheart killed Redtail. Then he said that he had avenged Redtail's death by killing Oakheart. Other than that, no cat is injured. Oh yeah, and Bluestar named the new deputy, it's Lionheart." Graypaw mewed, pride swelling in his voice for his mentor's success.

"How's Ravenpaw?" Smudgekit asked

"He's with Spottedleaf." Firepaw meowed, his eyes glowing.

"Ooooh, Spottedleaf," Smudgekit teased. "You have good taste, Firepaw. She's very pretty." Firepaw aimed a cuff at Smudgekit's head, but the black and white tom was too fast.

Smudgekit spent his days sitting outside the nursery, watching warriors and apprentices come and go. This activity he thoroughly enjoyed. One warm evening found him lying outside the nursery, a quarter moon after his arrival, sharing tongues with Firepaw. Smudgekit was so peaceful, he jumped as Goldenflower padded up to him with Bluestar. Firepaw and Smudgekit mewed their greetings and dipped their heads respectfully to the Clan leader.

"Come, Smudgekit. We are holding your apprentice ceremony right now." Bluestar mewed. Smudgekit tried to control the happy bubble that at swollen in his belly, after all these dawns, he was going to be a real part of the Clan. Bluestar padded over to Highrock while Goldenflower rushed up to her foster child.

"Look at the state of your fur!" She fussed, licking him all over to smooth his fur down. When Smudgekit was a kittypet, his soft fur was easy to groom, but in his time with the Clan, he was starting to look mottled and dusty, just like everyone else. His body shape was different to. He was leaner, not the plump, soft muscled kitten he had once been.

"From this moment on, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice shall be known as Smudgepaw. Lionheart, Tigerclaw and myself will share your training, now that I am Firepaw's mentor. Smudgepaw could have leaped around like a kit out of happiness, but he held himself back. He was an apprentice now. Even though Bluestar couldn't spare a warrior to mentor him, he was proud to be an actual part of the Clan.

Smudgepaw padded into the apprentices' den, he had been there before, to share tongues with Graypaw and Firepaw. He even had a nest in there, although he only used it for sitting in when he was with his friends. He bounded over to it and settled inside the nest of soft moss and waited for the other apprentices to come in. Sandpaw and Dustpaw came in first, caught sight of him and turned right around and padded out, only pausing to shoot disgusted looks at him over their shoulders. Ravenpaw came in next, and nearly died of fright when he saw Smudgepaw.

"Relax, Ravenpaw," Firepaw mewed, stepping into the den after the black cat. "It's only Smudgepaw, and don't get too comfortable, Tigerclaw, Bluestar and Lionheart want us to go training at sunhigh. Hey, Smudgepaw, you want to come with us on a tour of ThunderClan territory with us before training? It'll be a boring training session if we show you it then. If we show you now, we can learn hunting or fighting with our mentors." Graypaw mewed,

"Ravenpaw can come to if he likes." Smudgepaw struggled to his paws, anxious to step out of camp for a while. Ravenpaw followed, though cautiously.

The tour of their territory would have been much more thorough if a mentor had shown it to him, but Smudgepaw had to admit that it was a lot more fun with just his friends, and he could hunt or fight with his mentors. By the time they had returned to camp, the four young cats were exhausted, but they had no time to rest their sore paws. Tigerclaw, Lionheart and Bluestar were waiting for them at the camp entrance.

"Where have you _been?_" Tigerclaw snarled. The dark warrior towered over the apprentices. Smudgepaw looked frightfully at his companions. Firepaw was looking scared, Graypaw worried, but Ravenpaw was shaking, plainly terrified of his mentor's anger. He even made small whimpering noises, as if Tigerclaw was going to slash them open with his claws, and judging by the look on Tigerclaw's face, Smudgepaw privately felt that he wouldn't put it past him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Firepaw quivered under Tigerclaw's harsh gaze, waiting for one of his friends to speak up because he certainly wasn't going to. Graypaw, the boldest of the four apprentices, looked Tigerclaw straight in the eyes.

"We were showing him ThunderClan territory so you wouldn't have to waste time doing it. Now you can teach us to hunt, or fight." Graypaw mewed. Firepaw could hear a growl welling deep in Tigerclaw's throat, but before the great warrior could speak, Bluestar stepped in.

"Tigerclaw, a tour of the territory was a good idea, now we can head straight to the training hollow and these four apprentices can learn some fighting skills." Tigerclaw looked as if would have liked to argue with his leader but he held himself back.

All seven cats bounded into the sandy hollow and the three mentors paced back and forth in front of the younger cats.

"Firepaw, you first." Bluestar meowed. Firepaw stepped forward, eager to please his mentor. On Bluestar's instructions, Firepaw crouched low in front of the gray she-cat and crept slowly forward. He reared up onto his hind legs and prepared to bring down his paws on Bluestar. Suddenly, unexpectedly, Bluestar rolled onto her back and pushed up with all four legs, catching Firepaw in the belly and tossing him aside. Firepaw got shakily to his paws; embarrassed that he had let his mentor beat him, in front of his friends, too. Firepaw got back into position but Bluestar shook her head.

"Lionheart and Graypaw will go next," she mewed. "We will rotate so every cat gets a turn." Firepaw nodded and took his place at the edge of the clearing to watch Graypaw and his mentor. Graypaw crouched down, stalking inexpertly around the golden tabby. Lionheart did the same thing, and they crept at each other in circles, waiting for a moment to strike. Graypaw drew back his lips in a snarl and leaped straight at Lionheart's paws. He propelled himself toward his mentor and crashed into him, sending them both toppling into the dust.

"Well done, young Graypaw," Lioneart meowed. "I guess it is Ravenpaw's turn next." The black apprentice looked positively terrified at the thought of training with Tigerclaw, but Firepaw knew that his black friend was only overwhelmed by the dark warrior's power.

Ravenpaw and Tigerclaw started with the same technique that the pair before them had used. Both cats dropped to a stealthy crouch and stalked around each other in tight circles. Ravenpaw obviously didn't have a clue what he was doing, so he and his mentor walked in circles until Ravenpaw got very dizzy and fell right over. Firepaw was about to laugh, but he held himself back. He knew it would not make his friend happy.

"Pathetic," Tigerclaw snarled. "Absolutely pathetic. I've seen kits do better." Ravenpaw's tail drooped and he walked back to the other cats. Firepaw at least felt comforted that he wasn't the only one who was faltered by his own mentor.

Firepaw crouched low in the undergrowth waiting for the perfect moment to strike at the vole snuffling in the grass in front of him. After their training session, Bluestar had sent them all hunting and he had caught quite a bit of prey so far. Smudgepaw sat beside him. Watching the ginger tom carefully as he sprang at the vole and killed with a sharp bite. Although Firepaw enjoyed the company of his friends, he felt a little annoyed as Smudgepaw followed him around and asked questions. The black and white tom had never been hunting before and Bluestar had told him to hunt with Firepaw to see how it was done.

"Good catch, Firepaw," Smudgepaw mewed. Firepaw nodded his thanks and whispered:

"You have to keep quiet when you're hunting because you have to make sure the prey doesn't hear you." Smudgepaw nodded and stayed silent until Firepaw had made three more catches. The ginger tom was seated on a patch of sunny ground and was bending to pick up his catch when Smudgepaw yowled out:

"Firepaw, look out!" Firepaw felt cross. He was yowling right after he had told him not to. Maybe he should have left him with the Twolegs, after all. He rounded on Smudgepaw.

"What did I tell you about being loud. You'll scare all the prey away from here to-" his words were cut short when, with a mighty thump, a ball of gray, matted fur hit him hard and the impact caused him to roll over in the dust and he ended up crouching at Smudepaw's paws. The black and white tom sprang back and snarled at something behind Firepaw.

"Get off our territory, or we'll chase you out!" Smudgepaw's face was contorted with fury, and when Firepaw whirled around, he gasped when he saw the hideous gray cat that had attacked him. He could tell it was a she-cat, and the fumes wafting from her fur told Firepaw that she was sick. When the grizzled animal spoke, her voice was scratchy, as if the frost of leaf-bare had settled in her throat and frozen there.

"Well, well, well," She croaked, "Two little apprentices, I probably can't take on both of you, but I can have a good try!" with these words, she leaped at Firepaw again and the ginger tom leaped nimbly away. _What a disgusting creature!_ Firepaw thought. He knew that between him and Smudgepaw, they could easily chase this rogue away, but something told him not to. He stood, trying to decide what to do barley aware of the snarling coming from the she-cat as Smudgepaw held her down. Firepaw leaped to his paws and yowled to Smudgepaw.

"Don't hurt her! We will take her to camp and Bluestar will decide what to do." He could tell by the look on Smudgepaw's face that the black and white tom didn't approve of this idea but he stood up anyway and forced the she-cat to her paws.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Yellowfang!" a gasp from Smallear alerted the whole Clan to the presence of the prisoner. Smudgepaw heard Halftail explaining to several other cats that this mangy creature was the ShadowClan medicine cat. Bluestar strode majestically out of her den and padded straight over to Smudgepaw and Firepaw.

"You have brought us an important cat, you two." She meowed. And with that, she leaped on to Highrock and yowled her summons. Smudgepaw sat patiently as Bluestar told the Clan all about Yellowfang and that she had decided to keep her as a prisoner.

Smudgepaw strode out of the apprentices' den and glanced over to where Yellowfang ha sheltered for the night. He noticed that the queens were taking care of the old gray cat, and he had noticed other things about her too. For one, Yellowfang did not like kits, he had pondered on this for quite some time and he had not yet discovered a reason why. For another, the she-cat hated being looked after. She seemed very independent and despised being in another cat's care. Smudgepaw pulled his thoughts away from the bad-tempered rogue, and focused on the Gathering that had been last night. He remembered Brokenstar announcing that a dangerous cat was out and about, and how Bluestar had refused to believe that it was Yellowfang. He also remembered Brokenstar demanding hunting rights for his Clan, and now ThunderClan was nervously keeping watch for an attack.

"See you later, Smudgepaw!" Smudgepaw whirled around to see Graypaw, Firepaw and Ravenpaw bounding out of the gorse tunnel with Bluestar and Tigerclaw. _Of course, _Smudgepaw recalled bitterly, _they're going to the Moonstone, and Bluestar wouldn't let me come, I have just as much experience as those stupid furballs. _Smudgepaw thought, referring to his three best friends. He stood, scowling and watching with jealousy as the three apprentices padded smugly out of camp.

Smudgepaw spent the day wandering through the forest, grumbling angrily about Bluestar's choice of escort to the Moonstone. Occasionally he came round long enough to catch a mouse. Smudgepaw padded blindly through Tallpines and came out at his old Twoleg garden fence. He gazed up at it for several heartbeats and finally leaped up onto it. He had never been good at balancing but he managed to cling to the narrow fence and glance into his garden. He saw a small fluffy gray kitten immersed in a conversation with a tabby she-cat. He watched as a Twoleg stepped out of the nest and called out to the gray kitten. The little cat mewed a quick goodbye to the tabby and scrambled into the Twoleg nest.

Smudgepaw hopped down from the fence; he had to collect his catch and get back to the ThunderClan camp. He pushed his way into the gorse tunnel and dropped three mice and a vole on to the fresh-kill pile. Smudgepaw selected a thrush for himself and settled by the stump to eat it. He was glad that Sandpaw and Dustpaw weren't there to cold-shoulder him, but he felt lonely anyway. The black and white tom turned to go into the apprentices' den when Yellowfang leaped up with a yowl and stared at the gorse tunnel. Her screech caught the attention of all the other cats, and Lionheart had only just poked his head out of the warriors' den when a whole pack of cats bounded into the clearing. Smudgepaw recognized the scent of ShadowClan and he remembered some of the warriors' names. He saw Brokenstar, Blackfoot, Clawface, Boulder, and many others. Smudgepaw looked at the hostile faces of the ShadowClan cats and he knew they were not there just to deliver a friendly message.

Smudgepaw hurled himself into the fray and gripped the back of an enormous black tom. Smudgepaw clawed him again and again, but the huge cat refused to weaken. The black tom writhed beneath his claws and Smudgepaw felt himself being hurled away. He hit the dusty ground and before he could gather himself together again, the tom was on top of him. Smudgepaw knew that he could never beat such an opponent so he wriggled away from the cat before he suffered real injuries. He turned around in time to see Bluestar, Tigerclaw, Firepaw, Graypaw and Ravenpaw bound through the gorse tunnel and hurl themselves into battle.

Bleeding heavily from several wounds, Smudgepaw staggered over to Spottedleaf's den, he stumbled through the ferns to see the tortioseshell medicine cat pressing cobwebs on a rip in Runningwind's flank. The brown warrior shook her off and bounded back to the clearing. Spottedleaf took one look at Smudgpaw's ragged pelt and whisked off into her den, only to return with a wad of cobwebs a few heartbeats later. Smudgepaw sat patiently as she rapidly checked his wounds. After what seemed like an age, she gave him the all clear and he padded as quickly as he could back into the center of camp.

The clearing was exactly as it was when Smudgepaw had left it. A whirlwind of fur and claws flashed past him, and Smudgepaw saw Tigerclaw grappling furiously with Brokenstar. The huge tabby scored his claws down Brokenstar's face and Runningwind, restored to strength by Spottedleaf, leaped on the ShadowClan leader from behind. Tigerclaw turned to Smudgepaw.

"Move, kittypet, make yourself useful unless you want this Clan to be turned to crowfood." Smudgepaw spun around, looking for a cat that needed help. A sharp, loud squeal near the nursery caught his attention and he sped through the thick mass of cats in time to see Blackfoot herding several ThunderClan kits toward the gorse tunnel.

"The kits! Someone save the-" The desperate mew of Firepaw reached Smudgepaw's ears and the black-and-white cat turned to see Firepaw staring at the kits, when his yowl was cut short by a cat landing on the ginger tom's back and tearing out clumps of fur. Smudgepaw raced up to Blackfoot, when Yellowfang came out of nowhere. She thrust herself between the deputy and his way out and snarled and inaudible insult into the white cat's face. Smudgepaw automatically bounded up to the kits and picked up the smallest in his mouth. The rest he herded back to the nursery and gently nudged them inside.

He spun around and nearly tripped over Yellowfang who was fighting Blackfoot with all the ability of StarClan. Blackfoot raised his claws to tear them into Yellowfang's flesh, when a cry of retreat sounded from Brokenstar, and ShadowClan surged out of camp.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Firepaw barely listened to Bluestar's words during the clan meeting. He half-listened to the announcement of Lionheart's death and that Tigerclaw would be the new deputy. He ached all over and when Spottedleaf came to treat his wounds, he didn't even admire the glimmer of her tortoiseshell coat in the weak light from the sun.

Firepaw flopped into his nest in the apprentices' den and the lull of sleep washed over him quicker then he had expected. Spottedleaf had given him poppy seeds for his pain and to help him sleep, but he was so tired he may not have even needed them.

"Firepaw, Firepaw, wake up!" Firepaw opened a bleary eye to see Smudgepaw leaning over him, his paw raised to prod him again. "Firepaw, we have training! Tigerclaw already took Ravenpaw and Graypaw, and we have to go with Bluestar, I'll meet you in the training hollow." The black-and-white tom quickly bounded away and Firepaw heaved himself to his paws, wishing he were Sandpaw or Dustpaw, who were still fast asleep.

Firepaw pushed his way into the training hollow, the smooth, sandy floor felt good on his paws, cooled by the night's rain. Bluestar and Smudgepaw were there and when Firepaw stepped into the hollow, Bluestar put them to work.

"Practice your fighting moves," she instructed. "I want you to take turns attacking and defending. Smudgepaw will start with attack, Firepaw, you will defend against him." Both cats nodded and faced each other. Smudgepaw bounded quickly across the clearing and swiped Firepaw's ear with one paw. Firepaw lashed out at him and his friend sprang forward and they tussled on the floor until Smudgepaw was on top, pinning his friend down with both paws on his neck. Firepaw realized that Smudgepaw was not holding down his forepaws so the ginger tom reached up and gripped Smudgepaw with his paws. In one smooth movement, Firepaw pulled his friend down and pushed himself up. He managed to get on top of Smudgepaw and held him down with all four paws.

"Well done, both of you." Bluestar praised. "Now Smudgepaw will be on the defensive and Firepaw will attack."

They trained until all the energy was drained from both cats and Firepaw found it too much effort to swipe a paw at his friend, let alone hold him down. When the cats returned to camp, Firepaw and Smudgepaw staggered over to their den and fell into their nests. Within moments, Firepaw was asleep

When Firepaw awoke, he was in the den alone with Ravenpaw, who was washing himself, but kept glancing around warily. Firepaw had noticed that Ravenpaw had been especially jumpy since his mentor was chosen for Clan deputy. Firepaw had no time to dwell on what might be bothering his friend, he was supposed to be out hunting.

"Ravenpaw, do you want to come hunting with me?" The black tom nodded and together they bounded across the clearing, past Patchpelt and Smallear sharing tongues, past Whitestorm and Sandpaw, preparing to go out on patrol, and past Mousefur and Runningwind who were adding prey to the fresh-kill pile.

As they bounded out of the gorse tunnel, the two apprentices almost cannoned into Smudgepaw, Graypaw and Willowpelt who were coming back from the sunhigh patrol. Graypaw still looked sad, the grief of losing his mentor raw in his eyes. Firepaw quickly invited his two friends to come hunting, and together they padded into the depths of the forest.

Firepaw and his friends hunted until their fresh-kill was too much for them to carry and they had to push the rest with their paws. Firepaw was exhausted from breathing through only his nose so he dropped the two mice, the chaffinch and the shrew he was carrying in his jaws and sat down to rest. Smudgepaw flopped down beside him and let his prey fall to the leaf-strewn floor. The two other apprentices caught up to them and they lay gasping for breath until Firepaw heard the noise of voices. The sound and scents of Tigerclaw, Longtail and Darkstripe were carried toward them on a welcoming breeze in the sweltering heat.

Firepaw and his companions listened quietly until they heard the three warriors whisk off into the undergrowth. Firepaw replayed what he had heard in his head. Darkstripe and Longtail had listened intently while Tigerclaw shared with them his plans to 'get rid' of Ravenpaw. Could that possibly mean they wanted to kill him?

"Ravenpaw, what was that all about?" Graypaw's question jolted Firepaw away from his thoughts and he turned to the black cat, eager for a response.

"He knows." Ravenpaw stuttered out of fright so his response was hardly audible. "He knows that I know that he…that-that he k-killed Red-Redtail" all three cats gasped. Killed a cat from his own Clan? The apprentices listened in stunned silence as they listened to the rest of Ravenpaw's story. As he finished, a flash of lighting lit up the sky and icy raindrops fell on the four cats.

"We must get him out of here." Firepaw decided. "We will take our prey to the fresh-kill pile, and then we will take him away."

"Where to?" Smudgepaw asked.

"Let's take him to Barley! You know, that loner who helped us on the way to the moonstone." Graypaw piped up. Firepaw nodded and they sprinted to camp as fast as they could with all their prey.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The four apperntices burst through the gorse tunnel and staggered over to the steadily dwindling fresh-kill pile. Smudgepaw sighed with relief, as the burden of his prey was lifted from him, but he felt no better, they had to get Ravenpaw out of here, fast. A few hearbeats after the last mouse had fallen into the pile, Smudgepaw noticed that the camp was empty. The cats all seemed to be in their dens. He lifted his head to the sky and saw the swirling black clouds that promised a tremedous storm.

"it's going to rain, we'd better hurry." Before he could agree with Graypaw, Smudgepaw heard a chilling wail rising above the tumult of the cfoming storm. Smudgepaw gasped and sniffed the air. He caught the scents of Spottedleaf and the sour stench that brought him back to his first visit to the Thunderpath. Of course! It was ShadowClan! He heard a sharp intake of breath from Firepaw, for he knew his friend felt more for Spottedleaf than just friendship.

Smudgepaw watched desperatly as the ginger tom shot toward the bushes from which the sound had risen. Smudgepaw looked at Graypaw, he didn't know what to do, and he hoped his gray friend would rise to the occasion and take charge. Graypaw sighed.

"You can go see what that's all about, and I can take Ravenpaw." Smudgepaw nodded and bolted after Firepaw without a backward glance.

The bushes opened up to a horrible scene. Firepaw writhed on the ground under the weight of an enormous brown ShadowClan tom, while Spottedleaf crouched nearby, her eyes glazed with fear and pain. Smudgepaw wasted no time in rescuing his friend, and he leaped upon the attacker and sank his teeth in.


End file.
